Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. said Monday it may appeal the decision of the Supreme Court of the State of New York that denied its motion to dismiss the case filed by Bangladesh Bank over the $81-million money laundering scam in early 2016.
“RCBC will continue to defend the case vigorously and is considering all options, including the possibility of an appeal against the denial of the motions to dismiss,” RCBC said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Monday.
Bangladesh Bank filed a complaint against RCBC, its officers and other parties before the Supreme Court of New York on May 27, 2020.
RCBC said it received on Jan. 14 a notice from the regional trial court of Makati containing the summons and the complaint filed by Bangladesh Bank against RCBC and other persons.
“In a decision and order released on Jan. 14, 2023, the Supreme Court of the State of New York, the first instance trial court, denied the motions to dismiss filed by RCBC and its current and previous employee-defendants,” it said.
“Without ruling on the merits, the court confirmed its jurisdiction over RCBC and the individual defendants. It also exercised its discretion to find that New York is a convenient forum to try the case,” RCBC said.
It said the decision and order “merely resolved the jurisdictional issues and is not in any way, a finding of liability on the part of RCBC or any of the individual defendants.”
The bank said “the court directed the parties to mediate the dispute.” Julito G. Rada